difference b/w V, M, & D hotels?

[PrincessErica]

Hi everyone! I'm new here and I need some advice. I am wondering how much of a difference there is between value, moderate and delux Disney hotels.
A little backgroud:
We've been to Disney 7 times - stayed at the Dolphin, Swan, All-Star Sports, Boardwalk, Poly and Wilderness Lodge (In that order). We loved all the Deluxe resorts; but the 1 value was a really bad experience. The room wasn't clean, smelled really bad (had to of been a smoking room, plus a very strong soured-milk smell) they wouldn't change our room, even though my son - (then 3) has a bad reaction to cig somke, the key wouldn't work EVERY time we went to the room and we were the furthest from the lobby, so we'd have to double back for a new key every time. We ended up leaving 3 days early (a 10 day trip) b/c of the hotel.
That being said, we have never been to a moderate and are considering POR this time - Sept 2008. My only question is - how different it will POR be from the deluxes, and is it a lot better than All Star sports???
Thanks in advance,
Erica

 

[DVC Mike]

Advantages of a Moderate over a Value Resort

• Larger: (average 314 sq ft vs. 260 sq ft; CBR is 340)
• Table Service Restaurants (not just Food Courts)
• Less “garish”/more “adult”/more relaxed theming (more subdued)
• Themed Pools with slides and hot tubs
• Small in-room refrigerator (at no additional cost) and coffee pot
• Curtain divider between beds and sink area (privacy)
• Limited Room Service
• Lounges
• Marinas and additional recreation activities

Advantages of a Deluxe over a Moderate Resort

• Larger: (344-476 sq ft vs 314 sq ft)
• Most rooms accommodate 5 guests
• Typically 2 Queen beds vs. typical 2 Double beds in Mods
• Multiple onsite TS, including Signature Dining and Character Dining
• Suites
• Club-level Concierge
• Fitness Center
• Kid’s Activities and Child Care
• Larger, elaborately themed pools (some zero entry) with Awesome Slides
• 24-hour Room Service
• Valet Parking
• Balcony
• Interior air-conditioned hallways instead of exterior
• Best locations and transportation options (walking, boating, or monorails to parks)

 

[Maukey]

Excellent info Mike!

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

Excellent information - I agree.

However, I too have been to WDW too many times to count. I found myself "upgrading" from a value to a mod (POR) on our last trip. I must say I was very disappointed. I am a Deluxe resort person, but want to experience all different resorts when we go. The only differnce between the mods and the values since you rely soley on bus transportation is the sit sown restaurant, that we didn't even use. For the amount of time spent in the rooms, I feel the value is a better choice. If you had a bad experience with a value and can swing a Deluxe, then go for it. But themeing, kids activities, etc are better at the values than the mods IMO.

 

[maciemouse]

Hey! I agree with the above post. It's either a deluxe or a value for us. I just can't justify paying the extra money for the moderate because we enjoy the value just as much. An example, on one of our recent trips, we stayed at POP on Wednesday night and paid $89.00. My kids (3 and 4) loved it. We checked into POFQ from Thurs-Sunday. We paid $208.00 a night. We were very disappointed in this resort. I know a lot of people love it, that's why we chose to stay here. We had horrible service and had a filthy room. There was left over hair in the shower, the carpet was spotty, the room felt musky, and there was a mountain of dust in the corners of the room. We just did not feel it was worth more money to stay here. The food court at POP had more to offer than POFQ. It was funny because I am a Disney Queen. After we checked in at POFQ, I wasn't going to say anything to my husband about being disappointed. We were in our room about five minutes and my husband looked at me and said "Honey we should of stayed where we were at!" It just was not worth the extra money! Also, I know we could of had a dirty room anywhere, but I would rather know I was paying $89.00 for it than 208.00 for it.

 

[minnie61650]

All of the rooms at All Star Music have been refurbished. They are newly painted, newly carpeted, they have new furniture , beding, curtains & hairdryers. The rooms were completed in june 2007.

There are photos of the newly redone rooms on
Allearsnet.com

----------------------------------------------------
Mods vs. values

POFQ is not as spread out as the other mods or the values.


POR CBR and CSR are very spread out.

The Values are laid out closer together.

The mods have pool slides, a hot tub and a sit down restaurant (POFQ doses not have a sit down restaurant but shares with POR.

There is not much room size difference between a mod and a value.

Here is the layout of a mod.
The bathroom is about the same size as the All Stars but you will have 2 sinks instead of one.(with the exception of CSR which only has 1)

POR room lay out

here is the All Star room layout'

All Star room layout

The mod has 54 square feet more than the value.
That means if both the mod and the value room were 27 feet long than the mod would be 2 feet wider. Just enough room for a double sink instead of a single.

To me here is not a lot of room size difference.

Here is the list that robinb(another DIS'ner) posted on another thread:

FWIW, Here are my opinions on the advantages/disadvantages of each level:

Advantage of Value over Moderates and Deluxes
* Price.
* Food Courts for quick meals.
* Pop Century has its own bus.
* All Stars resorts share busses, but there is usually very little wait on either end.

Disadvantage of Values
* Small rooms.
* Double or King sized beds only.
* Large groups can sometimes be rowdy.
* No pool slide or hot tub.
* external corridors.
* Pizza delivery only.

Advantage of Moderate over Values
* Nicer feature pools with slides and hot tubs.
* Bigger rooms.
* Sit-down restaurants (all but POFQ).
* Real bars in main area plus pool bar, not just pool bar (except POP).
* Nicer food court, it's not just one big room.
* No giant icons.

Disadvantages of Moderates
* Double or King sized beds only.
* Can be spread out and most need an internal bus system.
* External corridors.
* Pizza delivery only.

Advantage of Deluxe over Moderates and Values
* Bigger rooms yet. Many can sleep 5 people.
* Queen or King sized beds.
* Large variety of sit-down restaurants.
* Nicer feature pools, many with zero entry.
* Internal corridors.
* All have sliding glass doors and most have balconies or patios.
* Most have special proximity to parks: monorail/boat to MK, walk/boat to
Epcot/MGM.
* Room service.
* Valet parking.

Disadvantage of Deluxes
* Epcot deluxes do not have snack shops for a quick meal, except the Beach Club Marketplace.
* Price.
* Busses are often shared, especially the Epcot resorts. The ride can take a long time.
* Self parking can be difficult, especially at the monorail hotels.

 

[Tink415]

Its too bad you were unable to change rooms at ASSp and ended your vacation early. I've only had a horrible room at a Value once, and nice rooms many times. Personally, I've never had a horrible room at a moderate or deluxe - only slighltly worn or dusty

We've stayed at all levels of Disney resorts and I would consider all levels for furture visits also.

To answer your question, 'a lot better' is really subjective and hard to answer. Sometimes I choose a moderate over a value or deluxe for several reasons:
1. PRICE
2. hot tub & pool slide
3. resort amenities
4. atmosphere in general

To me, POR has a relaxing atmosphere. The food court is great, there is also a restaurant and lounge, multiple pools to choose from, including one with a slide and hot tub, the playground is more elaborate, there are boat & bike rentals and the boat to DD. POR doesn't have a tropical feeling and sometimes I want that when I go to Florida..

I think I could spend a weekend at a moderate or deluxe, not go to any parks and still find enough to do for a nice mini-vacation..I can't say the same for a value.

If we're at the parks from morning till night it makes no sense to me to pay for a deluxe unless we get a great room rate. I've only paid rack rates at the deluxes for short trips, and I make sure to plan so we get use of the amenities.

Hope this helps!

 

[septbaby]

For me a Value resort wouldn't be vacation. I would want a refrigerator and a hot tub and I'd prefer a gym too. I would likely only stay at a Value one night, say if I was arriving late then switch to our Mod or Deluxe. On vacation I want some creature comforts and pampering; not just a bed. Not everyone's liking, but it's mine. Honestly, I really want a fridge and a microwave, but that's asking too much at Disney and at Disney you get lots of other things to make up for a lack of a microwave!

We really enjoyed our stay at CBR last summer. My 6yo nephew LOVED the water slide and pool in general. The food court was really nice and food was good (Values should be just as good or better). Mom and I appreciated the hot tub, though it wasn't in the right spot. Hopefully they've fixed that in the renovation. The resort is a beautiful place and great if you wanted to take a quiet stroll or run. CBR also has a marina so renting water sports equipment and taking the pirate cruise(kids) is an option there. The rooms were a very nice size and even with just the three of us the way my mother packs and unpacks we needed the room. I lived the week from a roll on bag and back pack that was used to carry my laptop; we won't begin to list what she had; thank goodness for ME!

All that said, we have booked a Deluxe for our 2008 trip. We are bouncing back from Sept 2007, so the standard Dining Plan is complimentary. We will be at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and are really excited about it. Of course the 6yo doesn't know about the trip yet. We want to come in a day before the promo starts and have considered booking Pop for the night. I think we'll end up just booking AKL room only at a AAA rate. We won't get our park tickets until the next morning, so we can really enjoy the resort and some other non park Disney activities that day. We are really looking forward to the pool at AKL. I think I could live with kicking off vacation with lounging by the pool and debating when to get back into the hot tub or cool off in the pool.

I give Disney high marks; they offer something for just about every family so everyone can get some Magic. If I was providing a trip for my family of 3 kids or more the Value might be perfect and as a kid I might be ecstatic to be there. But I'm treating me to vacation and pay part of the expenses for my nephew, which at 6 really isn't very much. I live out of state from my family and work really hard in my own business so these times are precious to me and I need the break, relaxation and to enjoy my family. For my needs a Mod or Deluxe work best.

One of the best things about an onsite site Disney stay is ME and Disney transportation. For me getting a rental car isn't much fun and kind of a pain in Orlando. If I can be carted to the resort then carted around or walk to where I need to go, sign me up.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Sorry you had a bad time at teh values. Our experience was much better than that. In fact, we had better service at the two values than at one of the mods. Twice we ha bad expeeriences at POR, yet others say that is their favorite. Probably it was luck of the draw.


While I sort of agree with the points other posters have made, I'd say there are differences between the mods an values. There is more space in the mods, better decor, more storage, fridges, coffee makers, towels at the pool, in-room hairdrayers (actually Pop has them but theother values did not).

On the other hand, the values had better transportation, IMO. I also disagree with describing the decor at the values as 'garish.' I thought they were cute, as did the kids in our family. Indeed, I found the decor at some fo the mods to be kind of boring (POR - Bayou side, and CBR). Last, POR Bayou side doesn't have elevators. As far as I know, all the other mods did, as did Pop. (We had first floor room at ASMu).

I also kind of like stepping out of my room into the sunshine, but then, we usually go in the Spring. One downside of the Swan is that I felt it took a long time to get out of the building, and it was a long walk from the pool tothe room. In case of fire, getting out quickly is important.

 

[minnie61650]

...., in-room hairdrayers (actually Pop has them but theother values did not).......

All Star Music now has hairdryers in their newly refubished rooms :

....,
On the other hand, the values had better transportation, IMO. I also disagree with describing the decor at the values as 'garish.' I thought they were cute, as did the kids in our family. Indeed, I found the decor at some fo the mods to be kind of boring (POR - Bayou side, and CBR). Last, POR Bayou side doesn't have elevators. As far as I know, all the other mods did, as did Pop. (We had first floor room at ASMu).

I also kind of like stepping out of my room into the sunshine, but then, we usually go in the Spring. One downside of the Swan is that I felt it took a long time to get out of the building, and it was a long walk from the pool tothe room. In case of fire, getting out quickly is important.

Just wanted to add that all of the values have elevators.

CBR does not have elevators but CSR does have elevators.

Just my 2 cents.